A Fayette County judge imposed the maximum sentence Friday on a man who was convicted of fleeing the scene of a crash that killed a University of Kentucky freshman last spring.
Connie Blount
Shannon Houser
Shannon Houser, 37, was sentenced to five years in prison for tampering with evidence and leaving the scene of an accident. A jury had recommended six years by asking for the tampering and fleeing sentences to run concurrently, but by law the toughest sentence that Circuit Judge James Ishmael could impose was five years.
Early on April 13, Houser struck Connie Blount, 18, with his pickup. Blount, who investigators have said crossed Broadway against the light, had knelt down in the street, according to testimony.
Blount’s father, Jack, was disappointed that Houser was not prosecuted for murder. He said he’s angry that Houser will be eligible for parole after serving a year.
“Our legal system is a mess,” Jack Blount said.
Police have said that Houser removed the grill and bumper of his truck. But his attorney argued that Houser was not trying to conceal anything, noting that Houser did not wash the truck or try to hide the bumper.
Houser has said that he did not realize that he had hit Blount, who was studying equestrian science at UK.
But Ishmael told Houser on Friday that his explanation defies common sense.
Jack Blount said he will appear before the parole board when Houser is eligible.
“To me, he appears to have accepted no responsibility for what he did,” Jack Blount said. “He just shows no remorse. It is just shocking.”
5 YEARS? 5 YEARS for killing an 18 year old girl and not having the balls to at least stop? What a joke.. All this tells me is that I can kill anybody I want in my car as long as I dont stop… This is awful
yes sir our judicial system is a mess. People get more time for drug possession. You don’t just hit someone and not know it. He should have at least got 25 to life for this. Now with good behavior he will be out in a year. Sad…
Who was Blount’s companion that night and why has his name been kept out of the papers?
The system is crazy!!! My brother was high on drugs and drinking and hit someone and injured her very bad, thankfully she was not killed. She had her child with her, thankfully the child was not hurt (physically) at all. He got a 10 year and a 5 year sentence. He has already served 3 years and went up for parole and was denied parole and cannot try for parole for another 3 years. What my brother did was wrong. I am not defending him. He did the crime and he has to do his time. If he makes parole in 3 years, he will have served 6 years, that is more than this guy gets to start with and this young lady DIED! What is wrong with our court system?
The reason that Houser was not prosecuted for murder is that it is not murder to accidentally hit someone who is staggering around drunk in the middle of the street on a dark and rainy night. Of course, the jury wasn’t told that she was drunk, and had it known the facts, no doubt would have given a lighter sentence.
Houser was prosecuted for leaving the scene of an accident and tampering with evidence, not any form of homicide, because he didn’t commit a homicide. What this case is about is that Houser is a working class guy with lots of little petty legal problems in the past, while Ms. Blount was a little rich girl who had nothing better to do than get drunk and wander around downtown Lexington.
This is indeed a tragedy, but nothing that Houser could have done after the fact would have either brought her back or prevented the accident. I hope her father is happy that he has insisted on ruining another person’s life in addition to losing his daugher’s. But it won’t bring Ms. Blount back.
Only in Kentucky is wanton killing and offical corruption the law of the land
In no way do I want to suggest that what happened isn’t terrible, but this article is heavily biased, and as a journalist the writer should have done a better job avoiding bias. The headline and story say Houser “fled the scene” — something Houser denies. No one is sourced as claiming Houser fled the scene, the story simply says this. I personally think that Houser probably did flee the scene and probably was aware of what happened but didn’t want to take responsibility. But that doesn’t make it fact. If you’re going to be a good journalist you have to stick to the facts, and the writer of this story was not careful to do that.
Caleb Powers you should be ashamed of your remarks, they are horrible. I hope nothing unfortunate ever happens to you. It seems that you feel sorry for this petty criminal turned killer, (he did KILL her, he didn’t just run over her, he actually KILLED her) and yet are bitter because the young girl came from a good family who may be well off financially. Mr. Houser deserves to die in prison. When he gets out I bet you he will commit similar offenses involving drugs/alcohol and driving, as most of the time happens with these “types” of criminals. My heart goes out to Mr. Blount and his family, what a slap in the face this was to them.
Caleb,
I hope that when your pal gets out in a few years he runs down a member of your family and kills them - drives off, swaps his bumper out, does think to wash the blood off, and they don’t even catch him next time. Lets see what you say then, shall we?
Last time I checked, it is a driver’s responsibility to at least “know” they hit someone. Accident or not. Oh, wait, ya think your pal was maybe DUI, too? But since he left the scene they couldn’t test him, could they? Blount paid for her possible mistake with her life. Happy?
I Taylor, you know as well as I do that Shannon Houser didn’t know this young woman from Eve. He didn’t intend to hit, kill, or harm her in any way. He hit her ACCIDENTALLY because she was staggering around drunk in the middle of the street in the middle of the night. Had he simply stopped and waited for the police to arrive, he would have been guilty of NO crime whatsoever.
Instead, he left the scene of an accident. This is a crime, but I guarantee you that in the history of Kentucky jurisprudence no one has ever been sentenced to five years for committing it. There’s no question that Houser did the wrong thing in leaving the scene of the accident, but that wrong is nowhere near the wrong of killing someone, which is what everyone seems to think he was convicted of.
If the tables had been turned, and this young woman had struck Houser while Houser was drunk in the middle of the street, and then left the accident, not a word would have been said, and the matter would never have gotten to court. The laws in our society are indeed respecters of a person’s status in life.
Although I recognize the tragedy in this case, and feel deeply for the family of the victim, I do feel some sympathy for Houser as well, not because I think that he’s innocent, but because I think he was punished for a crime he neither committed nor was convicted of.
Apparently Caleb Powers is the only one familiar with the law, and should NOT be ashamed of his remarks. Let me say that it is a tragedy that this young girl’s life ended so early. However, she played a role in this unfortunate situation. To the best of my recollection Mr. Houser was not speeding and was not under the influence. The only thing he is guilty of is leaving the scene of an accident and tampering with evidence. That is all he should be punished for. If Ms. Blount crossed according to the stop walk sign, and not stopped in the middle of an intersection where oncoming traffic has a green light, she would still be alive. It is awful that Mr. Houser did not stop and call and ambulance and he should be punished for that action. He should not be punished for crossing an intersection where he has a green light and an intoxicated individual decided to stop and bend down in the middle of the road on a rainy night.
Please educate yourself before making such childish remarks. This could easily have been anyone. Once again, it is a tragedy that this young woman died, and I do not believe that there was an excuse for Mr. Houser to drive away. However, people should not be punished for driving through an intersection where the traffic light is green.
Sounds as if both parties did things wrong. Why was this young woman bent down in the street? No one expects that when driving. Mr. Houser definitely should have stopped and tried to render aid. He should have called for help. The punishment fits the crime.
By news reports the girl was drunk kneeled down in the street,her drunk friend yelled at her to get out of the road Mr. Houser got what he should have the only reason this case got what attention it has is because a pretty college girl got hit by a petty criminal.
To be honest Mr Houser should have gotten more than 5 years for the death of the Blount lady. We have child molesters and rapiests that get more time for their crimes than what the murders get. He was behind the wheel of the vehicle that struck the lady. I don’t see how anyone can blame the Blount Family for wanting saisfaction. I know I would if it would have been my daughter. You ask me he should have went back to see what it was he hit. Just maybe the lady might have had a chance if Mr. Houser would have done the right thing.
Connie- i miss you so much. I cant believe its alreayd been a year. I dont understand how time can go by so fast and so slow at the same time. Our hearts are broken. We think about you constantly, in everything we do. Your parents visit me often and attend the basketball games, and take me to olive garden. Your dad also visits kat a lot which i know is good for the both of you Its hard to comprehend the fact that you are gone. It doesnt seem real.At times it overwhelms me. I read the news story Connie Blount dies, and have to think to myself oh yeah shes really gone, shes readdy dead. We have to go to your gravestone to be near you Its so surreal. How did this happen con? how can one minute you be here and the next thing we know, we are having to mend our broken hearts and fill our void from your loss.
Im so sad houser only got 5 years. He left your little bloody body laying in the cold street. he knew he hit you and his past speaks for himself. I hope god one day gives him what he deserves.
I miss you so much, words can describe it con.
I cant wait to see you at the gates of heaven, with that infectious beautiful smile. We will have to make up for lost times. I love you and i love seeing you in my dreams. come to me more often.. Erin and I are going to lunch and we cant wait to share the memories of you.
We will get some sushi and cheers to u.
Happy late birthday baby. you would have been 20.
See you soon, connie baby.